Rotherham Neighbourhood team crackdown on knife crime

Operation Alligator, the hard-hitting initiative dedicated to tackling and addressing anti-social behaviour and crime in Rotherham, has seen another successful operation in the town this week.

Last Thursday (21 February 2019) officers from Rotherham Central Neighbourhood Policing Team visited a number of licenced premises to deploy knife search wands and cocaine wipe downs as part of the force’s commitment to PUBWATCH, part of Operation Alligator.

Surprise checks were conducted in seven pubs in the town, which also benefited from an increased police presence.

Sergeant Simon Kirkham who led the deployment said: “Operation Alligator is all about listening to the issues which concern the local community, and developing and deploying strategies to resolve them.

“This latest operation is just one of many deployments planned for the operation- we’d like to reassure the people of Rotherham that their voices are being heard, and we have a brilliant team in place to tackle crime, and achieve positive results as a result of our dedicated initiative.”

As part of the operation, knife wand checks were completed with the full support of staff and customers at each location, whilst wipe downs in the restrooms revealed that four out of the seven pubs investigated tested positive for traces of cocaine.

Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings added: “The team of PCs and PCSOs who went out in force to conduct this work have done a brilliant job of reassuring the public that issues which affect their communities are being addressed.

“Our work will continue, and the locations in question will continue to benefit from an increased police presence. We would like to reiterate out thanks and appreciation to the public, and the staff at each of the public houses visited for their support in this initiative.”